E66 Vahagn Nikolian On Telehealth

Dr. Vahagn Nikolian (https://twitter.com/VNikolian?s=20) has been thinking about the way we can adopt virtual care far before the COVID19 pandemic. Dr. Nikolian is a surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University and specializes in abdominal wall reconstruction. In this episode, we talk to him about how he got interested in telehealth, how we can streamline telehealth consults, and where he sees telemedicine going in the future. 

1. Pilot study on eClinics: https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/Fulltext/2018/10000/Pilot_Study_to_Evaluate_the_Safety,_Feasibility,.18.aspx

2. Role of telemedicine in postoperative care: https://mhealth.amegroups.com/article/view/19310/19390

3. Touch. CMAJ. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/183/18/2141

4. Surgical plans generated from telemedicine visits are rarely changed after in-person evaluation in spine patients. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33227550/

Bio:
Twitter: @VNikolian
Link to OHSU profile: https://www.ohsu.edu/people/vahagn-c-nikolian-md

Dr. Vahagn Nikolian is a board-certified General Surgeon with advanced training and expertise in abdominal wall reconstruction. He is a member of a talented team of surgeons at OHSU where he uses his experience and research to help advance the treatment of patients with hernias and abdominal wall defects.

Dr. Nikolian was raised in Southern California, where he attended medical school and graduated with honors from the University of Southern California. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan. He completed his complex abdominal wall reconstruction fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. His research and commentaries have been published in several prominent journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and Annals of Surgery. His research at OHSU involves utilizing technology to improve patient care. Specifically, he directs his efforts towards improving access to digital health and improving outcomes in hernia surgery using minimally invasive and robotic surgical technology. To date, he has over 60 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters focused on general surgery, resident education, and digital health. He has received numerous national awards as well as funding from the National Institutes of Health and other surgical societies.

Dr. Nikolian aims to work with patients, their families, and primary care doctors to develop patient-centered treatment plans. He looks forward to collaborating with other specialists to give patients the most options and the best possible outcomes.